


equalize

by bunny093



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou Friendship, Fluff and Humor, Inspired by Music, M/M, Song: Equalize (Pitty), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, akaashi have the same job, bokuto is a drummer, but now he's in charge of kenma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunny093/pseuds/bunny093
Summary: “I will equalize you. At a frequency that only we know. I transformed you in this song so I could record you on me.”or when bokuto falls in love at first sight with a pretty boy who, surprise, is his friend's editor, and decides to write him a song
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	equalize

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fflorie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fflorie/gifts).
  * A translation of [Equalize](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/704293) by the very same author. 



> english is not my first language so i'm sorry for any mistakes~ also, i tranlated the song from brazilian portuguese so it may be a bit confusing

It was almost lunchtime when he finally entered the lift of his apartment building, doing small jumps without moving from his place and feeling a slight pain in the muscles of his leg after spending most of the morning running in the park across the street. He loved to exercise, even more early in the morning, but he had spent almost a month without doing anything due to the release of his band's latest studio album, the busy schedule taking away precious time he could spend at a gym or anywhere outdoors where he could sweat at will.

He wanted to take advantage of the small temporary freedom to put the accumulated energy out, and what better way than to run until he felt his lungs burn with the effort?

The metal doors opened and Bokuto got in without delay, pressing his floor button and waiting impatiently for the elevator to go up.

“Ah!” he heard an exclamation from outside and hurried footsteps, then automatically placed a hand on the crack to prevent the doors from closing. A man in a casual gray overcoat swiftly entered the elevator, panting and resting his hands on his knees as the doors closed behind him “Thank you.” he said, lifting his face to smile politely at the person who had helped him, clicking on the button for the floor he wanted and adjusting his glasses.

The bluish eyes framed by long black lashes on a face that was almost delicate and extremely beautiful with pale skin that seemed to be extremely soft, with no marks left by puberty - was the first thing Bokuto noticed, smiling back without taking off the headphones from his ears and feeling his heart speed up inside his chest.

His tongue became restless inside his mouth, wanting to use the words in his vocabulary to ask the stranger who he was and if he was one of the residents. And if not, who would he be visiting? For how long? Could I see you when you’re leaving?

The stranger was busy with his phone, leaning against one of the walls and ignoring the other man who kept stealing unobtrusive looks.

The lift’s doors opened two floors below his and almost stepped outside, stopping at the last second when he saw a familiar face waiting and his companion leaving with a polite smile in his direction.

“Akaashi! Kenma didn't tell me that you were coming today.” the man outside said, slapping the man on the shoulder before getting on the lift and slapping his friend’s back “Bokuto! You took your time today.”

“Good morning, Kuroo-san, I'm not surprised that Kozume-san didn't tell you about my visit.” he looked at him almost coldly “Have a nice day.” he said at Bokuto before turning away and walking towards the apartment that was his destination.

As soon as the doors closed, Bokuto jumped on Kuroo “Dude! Do you know him?! Why did you never introduced me? He's too beautiful, my God, I think I fell in love, Kuroo!”

The brunette laughed loudly, not surprised by his friend “Man, I wanted to introduce you, but Kenma threatened me and you know that he always does what he says, right? He said that Akaashi is too much sand for your little truck and that you would scare the best editor he ever had.”

“Akaashi… What a beautiful name…” his eyes were shining.

“You don't even know what it means, man.”

“It doesn’t matter.” he smiled proudly, the lift’s doors opening on the floor of the two friends, who parted in the corridor to enter their respective apartments.

This was the first time they had seen each other, Bokuto starting to frequent the apartment on the floor below his own to have the opportunity to see Akaashi again, and being lucky a few times, even if he was kicked out by the small and ferocious artist who was his friend - at least he managed to introduce himself to the editor without scaring him.

Akaashi didn't seem to care much about his presence, whether he was around in the big living room while he was talking seriously with Kenma about something or other in his latest job or inside the lift when they meet by surprise going to different places, and that gave a string of hope to the young musician.

“Ah, Akaashi! Good afternoon!” Bokuto said excitedly when he saw the other enter the lift while adjusting the mask on his face “Were you at Kenma again?”

“Good afternoon, Bokuto-san.” smiled a little “Yes, he had to redo an entire page after a system error. Are you leaving today?”

He tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach, holding a passionate sigh that struggled to escape his throat “Yes, I wanted to get out of the house a little today.” he laughed, almost embarrassed and feeling his face get hotter under the mask “I can't go out a lot because there is always someone who recognizes me and this is not always nice for the place I'm in, but I  _ really  _ want to have coffee from the other side of the street because I  _ love  _ their coffee, I honestly think it's one of the best I've ever had and…” he took a deep breath, smiling “Do you want to go with me?”

Akaashi raised a fisted hand to his face, hiding the small laugh he had given at the end of the other boy's monologue, his eyes closing behind the glasses “I would love to, Bokuto-san.” he replied, opening his eyes to look at the other.

And not realizing that he had once again stolen his heart.

The line was relatively long, and Bokuto tried to keep his head down, hiding his hair under a discreet cap while talking quietly with Akaashi. The local baristas knew him and did not boast his presence, attending quickly with a polite smile and a brief wish to have a good day or a good night. This was one of the reasons why the musician liked that place so much (Kenma also liked it, but his face was not as well known as his works), he could always count on the peace of the cozy place and the smell of coffee that was already impregnated on the walls and furniture.

They were just leaving, paper cups in hands with their drinks (Bokuto with his chocolate mocha and Akaashi with a simple caramel latte) when someone, two teenagers still in school uniform, recognized him, asking loudly if he was Bokuto-san, drummer of the band Fukurodani, taking cell phones out of bags to take pictures of and with the artist, drawing everyone's attention inside the establishment and making other people uncomfortable.

As soon as they took the photo they wanted so badly, Akaashi infiltrated the conversation saying that he was the artist's manager and that they needed to get back to work and that he was grateful for their support as fans and that he was waiting for them at the band's next event.

“Thanks for saving me in there, Akaashi! You’re an angel!” Bokuto exclaimed as soon as they crossed the street, holding the other's hand with almost teary eyes “I never know how to deal with this type of situation and I can never say no.” his expression grew sulky with each word “It’s difficult to be a famous artist at times, you know? I wish I could be like Kenma, who doesn't show his face and can have a normal life.” he sighed heavily, staring at his coffee cup.

“I can't say that I understand.” Akaashi replied after taking a sip of his own drink “But I imagine it must be… Almost a daily anxiety attack? Every time you or the other members of the band leave home to do something that is completely normal for us, who are not famous.” smiled “So you don't have to thank me for helping you.”

Bokuto looked at him in surprise, a bright smile appearing on his face, almost dropping the mask from where it hung from his ear “Akaashi!” he exclaimed loudly again, leaning towards the editor “The next time you come to visit Kenma, come to my apartment, okay? I promise I can make a very good cheesecake that I learned from YouTube and you will love it!”

Akaashi laughed again, accepting the invitation and asking for the drummer's number so he could let him know when he was going (because it wasn't always marked in advance as he would have liked).

And so their relationship changed with each meeting - those that became more and more frequent and with less time between each other. They got closer, exchanging secrets that seemed childish and others that were deeper, debating about everything and nothing, sharing personal tastes about different things, watching movies, series and animations together, sitting side by side with almost no distance between their bodies, drinking coffee together and eating homemade sweets, exchanging passionate kisses on the couch and ignoring whatever was on television that they were supposed to be watching, whispering names between caresses and cuddling under the sheet.

Akaashi had become something constant in Bokuto's life.

“Bokuto-san.” the brunette called him one night, lying face down on the musician's double bed, the sheet partially covering his naked body, his head turned to the balcony where Bokuto was sitting only in sweatpants and the acoustic guitar resting on his thighs, his fingers playing a melody that was not yet known.

“Hmm?” he asked back, eyes closed as he felt the instrument in his hands.

“I love you.”

Bokuto smiled, opening his eyes to look at the man lying on his bed, the moonlight making his white hair shine as much as his smile, his fingers never stopping playing the guitar strings “I love you too, Akaashi.”

Which brought them to where they were now, in the present, Bokuto on stage with a sweaty face and shirt, drumsticks tucked in the back pocket of his jeans sloppily, and a nervous smile on his face as he took a acoustic guitar from a staff's hand, while Akaashi watched calmly beside Kenma and Kuroo in the stands, far enough to stay out of the band's field of vision and thus not disturb his boyfriend's special performance.

Because Bokuto had written a new song, not yet recorded, and wanted to dedicate it to the editor he loved so much, singing for him one morning weeks before the start of the world tour. And now he would present it to the public, at the last concert in a stadium in the capital, after talking with the other members of the band and the management, receiving an ok from everyone.

“Well guys, while Akinori takes a break from the vocals…” he started, adjusting the microphone to his height “I'll sing for you a little, okay?” he smiled at the audience who just screamed back “I wrote this song last year, in those idle weeks after the new album was released and before the tour.” he ran his fingers over the guitar strings “I know you guys are not used to my voice and prefer Akinori's, but don't be afraid! I'm sure he will be the vocal if we ever record it.” he laughed, moving away from the microphone and looked to the side, probably where someone was standing watching him.

“I didn't even know he knew the word idle.” Kuroo commented softly beside him, eliciting a small snort from his friends.

“This song I wrote with a special person in mind.” Bokuto continued on stage, smiling at the audience's reaction “It's kind of embarrassing to talk about it, so I'm going to let your imagination run wild, okay?” laughed “Well, come on.”

The distracted melody he used to play soon stopped, his fingers hovering over the strings for a second, a smile on his face, before starting a new note - deeper, calmer, that seemed to touch the soul of the listener. A melody that Akaashi was already familiar with, that Bokuto liked to play while they were home alone. The editor even knew the version of drums that the other invented during a rehearsal alone inside the studio he set up in the guest room.

“ _ Sometimes, if I get distracted… If I don't watch myself for a moment… _ ” began, after a pause between notes, Akaashi smiling sweetly in his direction “ _ I move closer to you. I've seen that I can't be so loose otherwise soon I get that smell that passes from you to me in a perfect flow… _ ”

Bokuto's eyes were closed, his expression concentrated, as the camera zoomed in on his face to show on the gigantic screens.

“ _ While you talk and kiss me, at the same time I see your colors in your eyes so closely… _ ”

Bokuto loved to talk about his eyes, about how the color changed in a certain light and that "this is so incredible Akaashi!".

“ _ I swing slowly, like when you rock me, the pace is easy. It looks like it was rehearsed. And I think I really like you, just the way you are. _ ”

“I also like you the way you are, Bokuto-san.” that's what he said when the drummer sang the song for him the first time, bringing a light laugh from the other.

“ _ I will equalize you. At a frequency that only we know. I transformed you in this song so I could record you on me. _ ”

The camera was gradually zooming out, Bokuto opening his eyes to give his partial attention to the audience, who was following the music intently.

“ _ I love your sleepy face, and the timbre of your voice, which keeps telling me such crazy things. _ ”

Akaashi had laughed the first time, pinching his boyfriend's cheeks.

“ _ And it almost kills me from laughing when tries to convince me that I just stayed here… Because we are both the same. It almost looks like you already had my instruction manual, because you deciphered my dreams, because you know what I like and because when you hug me, the world turns slowly. _ ”

It had been one of the rare fights between the couple, Akaashi feeling insecure and not enough for the other. Bokuto-san was so amazing, how would someone like him could like,  _ love _ , someone like him? A simple manga editor who didn't stand out at all?

“ _ And the time is mine alone, and no one records the scene, suddenly it turns into an entire movie in slow motion. _ ”

Bokuto loved to comment on that, about wanting to film Akaashi, who always kept him away and called him a fool with a smile.

“ _ I will equalize you. At a frequency that only we know. I transformed you in this song so I could record you on me. _ ”

Akaashi sang softly with him, his eyes watering, but he refused to cry in public.

“ _ I will equalize you. At a frequency that only we know. I transformed you in this song so I could record you on me. _ ”

Bokuto looked up at the bleachers, and Akaashi leaned back, as if he wanted to hide, but the drummer was not seeing him (despite wanting to). The callused fingers then played the last few notes, the silence hanging in the air for a mere second before everyone started to scream and applaud the performance, shouting the drummer's name at the top of their lungs.

Akaashi laughed, clapping his hands, a single tear escaping his eye.

“He really loves you.” Kenma commented quietly in his ear.

“Yeah.” agreed with a bright smile “And I love him too.”

After the show, when the stadium was already empty and only the security guards and staff ran from side to side, Akaashi and Bokuto hugged each other in the dressing room, ignoring the applause and whistles of those around, but no fan needed to know such a personal detail.

**Author's Note:**

> the official music video of [equalize by pitty](https://youtu.be/x7WHL-o5tMo)


End file.
